Rolls-Royce, which has a factory in Rotherham, urged to work with unions to save 9,000 jobs

Unite said the firm had accepted public money to furlough thousands of workers and taxpayers deserved ‘a more responsible approach to a national emergency’.

Rolls has announced plans to axe ‘at least’ 9,000 jobs globally - almost a fifth of its workforce - some 3,375 in the UK, by the end of 2020, with more to come in 2021.

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Steve Turner, Unite assistant general secretary, urged the company to work with the union on a better way through the crisis.

And he called on government to set up a National Council for Recovery to stop a nervous business community sacking more people, leading to mass unemployment.

He added: “The news that Rolls Royce is preparing to throw thousands of skilled, loyal, world class workers, their families and communities under the bus during the worst public health crisis since 1918 is shameful opportunism.

"This company has accepted public money to furlough thousands of workers. Unite and Britain’s taxpayers deserve a more responsible approach to a national emergency. We call upon Rolls Royce to step back from the brink and work with us on a better way through this crisis."

Unite is concerned that the majority of job cuts will fall on the UK, he added.

Mr Turner continued: "In recent weeks, thousands of skilled jobs have gone and we are seriously concerned that we are going back to the dark days of the 1980s when businesses ran away from their responsibilities to workers who were the basis of their success.

"Actions then condemned hundreds of thousands to unemployment and our status as a major manufacturing nation was destroyed. Our country became a divided and depleted place as a result. We appeal to government and employers, do not repeat the mistakes of the past.”

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UK manufacturing had shown it could adapt quickly, working around the clock to produce kit to protect the sick and key workers during this national crisis, he added.

“Do not let this incredible national resource go to the wall. I repeat my calls to government: we urgently need you to work with unions and industry on a programme to take industry through the next phase of this crisis.

“Establish a National Council for Recovery and work with us, sending a clear signal that there is a strategy to reposition UK Plc and build Britain out of this dreadful situation. That is what a nervous business community needs in order to keep investing in our jobs and communities.

"Without this plan more companies will sack more people and the mass unemployment, broken families and devastated communities that we all dread will become a stark reality.”

A Rolls-Royce spokeswoman said plans to reduced global head count by ‘at least’ 9,000 employees would secure the company’s long-term future. The company had come through troubled times before and it would do again, she added.

“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the whole aviation industry is unprecedented. We have taken swift action to increase our cash reserves and dramatically reduce our spending in 2020 to strengthen our resilience in these exceptionally challenging times. We now have to take further steps to secure the long-term future of Rolls-Royce and ensure we can continue to innovate for years to come.

“Regrettably, this includes reducing the size of our workforce to meet the reduced customer demand, as it is now clear that activity in the commercial aerospace market will take several years to return to previous levels.

“Today, we have announced that we have taken the difficult decision to reduce our global headcount by at least 9,000 employees. As we are working through the details of this with our employee and trade union representatives in the UK and RRD, and our regional leads in other locations.

“We have come through troubled times before to achieve incredible things and we will do so again.”

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